Beer Snobbery

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

But doesn't the umlaut over the "a" in Hofbräu change the final dipthong to "oy" anyway? (Like Löwenbräu; for some reason I really love saying "Lervenbroy." Not that I'd order it at a bar, or pronounce it like that if I did. It's just fun to say. )

Don't know the specifics, I just know that's how they say it. +1 on Löwenbräu being much cooler to say than drink

 

[Homercidal]

But doesn't the umlaut over the "a" in Hofbräu change the final dipthong to "oy" anyway? (Like Löwenbräu; for some reason I really love saying "Lervenbroy." Not that I'd order it at a bar, or pronounce it like that if I did. It's just fun to say. )

Hmmm, that could be. I never got far enough along to learn umlaut pronunciations. I've been meaning to get back into the studying, but it's hard when you don't have any natural speakers to learn from.

I've done the Hoegaarden thing, but never gotten any funny responses. I figure if you are going to call a thing by it's name, you should use the natural pronunciation.

 

[mklawz]

Those are my old stomping grounds, moved to the burbs about 4 years ago. Sounds like a new place. Is the Duke of Perth still around? That's a good, cozy, unpretentious place to get a beer and some decent food.

BTW, I think it's fine they corrected your pronunciation, I'm all for saying things right. But there is a proper way to correct people!

 

[peterfuse]

I spent a month there ~3 years ago great place that's come a long way. Do you work for NTNI?

Is that northbrook technology you mean? no i work for a small web/graphic design company in the gasworks.

 

[smizak]

I have trouble correcting people and not sounding like a snob.

I get that most people don't obsess over beer like we do, and don't know differences in specific styles. That's cool with me. I just like to educate people, in case they run into a faux snob.

My girlfriends hates it. I was at a bar with her not long ago and asked what they had on tap. The bartender starts going down the list and explaining what style each beer was; "Paulaner, is a Hefeweizen, Great Lakes Holy Moses is another Hefeweizen....etc." My girl instantly sees me react to that and jabs me in the ribs under the bar.

I don't want to be a know-it-all, but it's hard to correct someone and not sound like one, especially when it's their job.

 

[peterfuse]

I don't want to be a know-it-all, but it's hard to correct someone and not sound like one, especially when it's their job.

i know what you mean in was at a german beer tent and asked if they had any dunkelweizen. The bartender told me she had none but had a bitburger pilz and said this is pretty much the same thing. My calm reply was "no, no it's not"

 

[smizak]

i know what you mean in was at a german beer tent and asked if they had any dunkelweizen. The bartender told me she had none but had a bitburger pilz and said this is pretty much the same thing. My calm reply was "no, no it's not"

Yeah, those are pretty far from being similar.

To some people, beer is beer, that's that.

 

[RC0032]

Is that northbrook technology you mean? no i work for a small web/graphic design company in the gasworks.

Ya they change their name alot

 

[BrewMonsterHead]

Chicago is full of people who think they are smarter than they really are.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

The world is full of people who think they are smarter than they really are.

fixed it for you

 

[fratermus]

Anybody else ever run into beer snobbery like this?

I think it's d*ckishness instead of snobbery.

A gentler approach would be:

"Here's your Smiddicks, as the the locals say. Enjoy!"

 

[Loweface]

I don't know if this is yuppie-type snobbery or just Irish purism. Was the guy Irish? If he has an Irish accent, next time tell him you love his English accent and that you always admired Princess Diana. See what he says or does.

I love this option... I know that when I traveled in the states I didn't let on that I actually like the English as much, yet people often didn't realise I was traveling/drinking with one

Coming from and living in Southern Ireland and having financed a lot of my college days working in bars, the correct pronunciation is Smithicks, you don't pronounce the "W" or you'd get laughed out of it.

I don't think you'd be laughed out of it. Particularly if you'd any way of a foreign accent. Most Irish barmen realise that most American tourists will probably pronounce the "w". Personally it bugs me just that little bit more when you can hear the intentional, practiced, "Irish" pronounciation...

Either way that barman was a ****...

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Maybe you could get Loweface or peterfuse to post how to order in Irish (with added phoenetic spelling!). Than go back and order from the same bartender and order it Irish. When he looks at you like you have two heads, just tell him you figured he knew Irish because of the way he pronounces "Smitticks".

(Yes... go through all of that trouble for spite. )

How about you just speak Ozzy and pretend it's Irish...then you get the spite without all that trouble.

Snobbery about the pronunciation of an obscure word or name seems...simpleton-like. I mean...if it's something you could teach a 4-year-old kid in a matter of seconds...it ain't all that imo.

 

[Rhoobarb]

... I often ask for SmiTHWicks to see what they say. Usually they'll say Smitticks? Sure! but not in a condescending way. ...

Same here. First time I ordered it, the bartendress said, "Smith-icks? Sure!" I've pronounced it as Smith-icks ever since.

+1 on Duke Of Perth being pretty cool. It is still there. My old stomping grounds ~ 15 years ago!

 

[gxm]

+1 to the Duke of Perth. I miss that place, having moved to the West Coast years ago.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Those are my old stomping grounds, moved to the burbs about 4 years ago. Sounds like a new place. Is the Duke of Perth still around? That's a good, cozy, unpretentious place to get a beer and some decent food.

BTW, I think it's fine they corrected your pronunciation, I'm all for saying things right. But there is a proper way to correct people!

Just getting back to the forum... Ya, Duke of Perth is 100% my favorite bar within walking distance. Good Scotch, too...


I'm all for absorbing as much culture as possible, so from now on I guess I'll go for the "Smithicks" pronunciation, although, with so many beers out there, I'm not sure if its worth the hassle any more...

 

[vespa2t]

looked at me like I had a monkey on my shoulder and snidely replied, "We don't have Smithwicks, but we have 'Smitticks'."

if kidding, take in stride. If trulely snarky then gladly accept the smitticks and leave him a one cent tip.

 

[shaundesjardins]

if kidding, take in stride. If trulely snarky then gladly accept the smitticks and leave him a one cent tip.

I would leave him a 2 cent tip as a token of how much I appreciated his "2 cents"

 

[fratermus]

Yeah most German areas have a dialect but the south especially so. Bavarians and Schwebians have the craziest ones I have heard. I can barely understand anything they say...

I lived in Schwaebisch Gmuend for a few years (two army tours there) and the locals were very aware of the difference between the Schwaebian dialect and High German. It was a common joke on themselves to say that they "talk Schwaebisch" rather than "speak German".

I learned quickly that people look at you weird if you slip and greet someone with "Gruess Gott!" up north.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

I lived in Schwaebisch Gmuend for a few years (two army tours there) and the locals were very aware of the difference between the Schwaebian dialect and High German. It was a common joke on themselves to say that they "talk Schwaebisch" rather than "speak German".

I learned quickly that people look at you weird if you slip and greet someone with "Gruess Gott!" up north.

I was living in Eching, outside of Munich, and when I would go to Berlin and other Northern Cities I noticed that

A. I could understand everyone ten times better (having learned high German).
and B. That Gruss Gott was not the way to say hello there...

 

[EoinMag]

Hmmm, that could be. I never got far enough along to learn umlaut pronunciations. I've been meaning to get back into the studying, but it's hard when you don't have any natural speakers to learn from.

I've done the Hoegaarden thing, but never gotten any funny responses. I figure if you are going to call a thing by it's name, you should use the natural pronunciation.

Correct on the pronunciation of the German, the umlauts do change the pronunciations as you suggest.
Umlauts were the last thing I learned when living in Germany it took a few years to be able to roll them off the tongue as the sounds actually don't exist in any form in english and the attempts to spell them in English are as close as our language approximates to sounds that it doesn't have
You can get closer if you drop the two dots and just go to the other version of umlauted letters like oe, ae, ue, that way you can get it a little closer from an english perspective, but still no cigar.

 

[Homercidal]

Yes, an exchange student once gave me brief lessons on pronunciation, and the was a bit hard to notice the difference when you are new to the language. She was from Schwabish Hall, near Stuttgart. I've met several exchange students form Germany over the years as our babysitter took them in each year.

The weirdest one was from Finland (she was not weird, the language was). Very different from German and English. She was cute though, so it didn't matter. They were all cute, who am I kidding. I'm a sucker for a young lady with an accent!

 

[d_m_s_00]

When I started brewing I asked the LHBS guy for fruggles hops instead of fuggle... I was instantly corrected and deserved it too!! I Must be a little dyslectic, or too lazy to bother reading properly.

 

[yeasty]

But doesn't the umlaut over the "a" in Hofbräu change the final dipthong to "oy" anyway? (Like Löwenbräu; for some reason I really love saying "Lervenbroy." Not that I'd order it at a bar, or pronounce it like that if I did. It's just fun to say. )

i thought it was only an UMLAUT if it is over the U otherwise it is called something else. like my daughters name is ZOE with two dots over the O and it is called a "diaeresis".....

Diaeresis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[shaundesjardins]

i thought it was only an UMLAUT if it is over the U otherwise it is called something else. like my daughters name is ZOE with two dots over the O and it is called a "diaeresis".....

Diaeresis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In french (maybe english too?) the double dots over the E are called "TRÉMA" like in noël.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

In German the umlaut is any vowel as far as I know.